With this being the last month of Autumn, it is a busy time in the yard. There will be plenty of fruit ready to harvest and a time to plant new crops in your vege patch. And remember to get those all important bulbs in the ground so they can bloom at the right time.
GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS:
SASANQUA CAMELLIAS, SEVERAL PROTEAS (INCLUDING KING PROTEA AND PROTEA NERIFOLIA).
ORNAMENTAL GARDEN
Plant
With the warmer weather experienced sow the following outside: alyssu , calendula, clarkia, cornflowerr, daisy, forget-me-not, larkspur, linaria, russell lupin, stock, sweatpea, sweet William and wallflower (if frost-free, candytuft, godetia and linum also). Plant tulips and nerines of the bowdenii group. Make new perennial borders and add to existing schemes or replace plants. Lift, divide and replant unthrifty clumps of most perennials, but not peonies, hellebores or gerberas.
Prune
Prune hydrangeas, also strong-growing rambler roses. On ramblers cut out dead or spent tems and shorten side shoots to two buds. Take hardwood cuttings from roses, currants, grapevines and many deciduous shrubs. Set them in a shady corner and leave undisturbed for a year.
Fertilise
Improve growth of bedding plants with liquid feeds of blood and bone or fish fertiliser.
EDIBLE GARDEN
Plant
Broad beans, cabbage (spring hybrids), carrots (slow-bolting), spinach (prickly seeded).
Fertilise
Keep veges growing vigorously by applying liquid fertilisers.
Prune
Start pruning pipfruit trees any time after leaf-fall.
Things to do
Mulch all bare ground in the vege garden with newspaper ten sheets thick and top with grass clippings or a mix of fallen leaves and grass. In new or worn out gardens, spread a layer of animal manure under the paper. Plan new plantings of deciduous fruit tree trees or soft fruit and dig holes before ground gets too wet. Backfill loosely with a soil/compost mixture. Mulch dwarf fruit trees, citrus and soft fruits with compost, but avoid piling it against the stems.
Watch for
While pruning watch for scales and woolly aphis galls on fruit trees. For scales spray whole tree with oil, but for aphis apply neat oil to galls with a paintbrush. Also check for leafspot on celery. Remove infected leaves and spray regularly with a copper preparation.
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Watering
With the lack of rain in our region, continue to water especially new plantings.
Lawn Care
Cut lawns which are still growing, but only when the ground is reasonably firm. Do not let clippings lie.
Rose care
If you didn’t complete last month, give a cleanup spray of a copper fungicide, adding oil if scales are present. Alternatively, encourage leaves to fall by using lime-sulhur at winter strength without oil.
Things to do
Tidy up perennial borders, but leave dead topgrowth uncut, if there is a risk of a frost, or cover clumps with straw, leaves or bracken. Give beds an all-over dressing of compost. Topdress established clumps of bulbs with compost, adding some bone dust or ground phosphate rock. Move winter-flowering container plants into sunny areas. Plan new plantings of deciduous shrubs and trees. Dig holes now before the ground is too wet, and loosely backfill with a compost/soil mixture.
Need assistance
Get in touch with the team at Lawn King.
